jenny lewis?

When they said "working class," I thought they meant the guys when they were growing up. I mean, half their parents were, like, teachers, right? That says working class to me.

an_cat, if you read the first post - ie mine! - you will see what the thread was about. It referred to a point made in one of the articles shown in the Latest News section, which said that the Coldplay members are 'four nice working class boys'. And I was pointing out that this seems to be something which is automatically assumed about British bands - that they are working class, whereas all the guys in CP come from very well-to-do, middle-class families, with Chris going to a very posh and expensive private boarding school.

 

nelly, I understand the class thing very much as you live in Cheshire. I live near Manchester and know how prevalent it is there. Actually I don't think money has anything to do with class. It's more a kind of worldview, a way of thinking, of background etc. I used to work as a classroom assistant at my local primary school and although 90% of the families were what I suppose would be thought of as traditional, decent working class/lower middle-class, there was a section who lived on a council estate about half a mile away who in general treated their kids appallingly. Half the time, the kids didn't know who their fathers were, and were used to one man after another moving in for six months, beating up the mother, then leaving again. There is no way THESE type would have given their children piano lessons, Firthy and Nettie!! We had huge trouble with the kids from this estate - with their behaviour, reading, attendance, everything. When we spoke to the parents and asked them to help with their children's reading etc, they looked at us with amazement and just said, 'That's your ****ing job!'

 

Yes, Erin, the British class system can seem odd to people from other countries, but it is getting less obvious, as most people have much more money than they used to have, and what interests me is how many of the traditional working class people in our area send their children to private secondary school. Our local state comprehensives are very poor, but there is a brilliant private school about three miles away, and now, because so many 'ordinary' people have much more expendible income than their parents did, they are choosing to send their kids to a private school if they are bright. And I say good luck to them. I know of lots of people who are shocked at the idea of choosing the best school for your child, but in the end, it's their money, and no one blinks an eyelid if someone decides to spend it on a fast car, state of the art DVD system, conservatory or foreign holidays etc. The suggeston that every school can be equally good if enough money is poured into it by the government is bullshit. That's not how it works - it all starts with the family.

 

BTW, thanks Bijeli for saying my thread was interesting! That's what I love about this site - because all us Coldplay fans are so intelligent (well, most of us!) we can discuss all kinds of things. Until they get spammed of course!!:D

KM, don't know where you come from, but no way are kids whose parents are teachers, accountants etc, (as Coldplays are) deemed to be working class in Britain. It's hard to describe class without sounding 'classist' but the fact is that the concept of working class in the UK is generally that the fathers are 'blue-collar workers' - ie they do manual work such as plumbing, bricklaying, building etc, spend a lot of their time down at the local pub, and go to Benidorm or Tenerife for their hols! Whereas middle class parents usually work in the professions - ie are teachers, doctors, solicitors and so on, have interests like playing golf or singing in the local choir, and go to France or Tuscany for their holidays! This is VERY steriotypical I know, but there is actually quite a lot of truth in it too.

 

But no way are the Coldplay guys from working class families, particularly Chris. Have you seen the website of his school, Sherborne school in Dorset? This is one of the poshest and most expensive private boarding schools in the country, and costs over £7,000 PER TERM!!! Three more of the 'Old Boys' who went there were Jeremy Irons, Jon Pertwee (used to be Doctor Who) and John le Mesurier (Wilson in Dad's Army). bedofroses says how she saw an interview with Chris about two years ago, describing the middle-class background he comes from, and how proud he is of it. I think there's far too much judging people according to the family they were born into - OK, Chris comes from a privileged family but that's life. It's like some people are good looking and others aren't, some have good health and others don't. It's an unfair world, but IMO, Chris and the other guys have used their privileged upbringings to wonderful effect!!

 

Anyone who's interested in Chris's school (he is mentioned in the Old Boys section!) can see it on:-

 

www.sherborne.org

 

Click on General, then on Famous Alumni, and you will see a pic of Chris in all his beauty!!